U.S. Offers Missile Defense Concessions to Russia

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week offered a three-part set of concessions aimed at overcoming Russian objections to the Bush administration’s missile defense plans for Europe, the International Herald Tribune reported (see GSN, Oct. 18).

A formal presentation was made Wednesday to senior Russian security officials and NATO ambassadors.

“I consider the U.S. proposal on missile defense as very important,” said NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.  “The Americans have made a substantial and fundamental offer.  I sincerely hope the Russians will pick it up.”

Moscow has characterized U.S. plans for a radar base in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland as a threat to its strategic security.  It has threatened to point nuclear-tipped missiles at Europe should the proposal become reality.

There are three primary parts to the U.S. offer.

Deployment of the system would occur on a threat basis, to be assessed cooperatively by Russian and U.S. officials.

“Russia is interested in this idea,” said Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried.  “It has concerns about Iran, too.  This could be a beginning in defining together the threats.”

The offer would also bring in a Russian radar in Azerbaijan to the U.S. antimissile system.  Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed the Gabala site as a replacement for the planned Czech radar.

“This could be linked up to the U.S. plan through sharing data,” said Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. 

“By being able to share data across those networks, even at the very preliminary level, to be able to cut radars and that type of thing, you get increased capability,” he said.

Washington would also allow Russian personnel to monitor the Czech and Polish sites, pending approval from the two nations (Judy Dempsey, International Herald Tribune, Oct. 20).

Meanwhile, the opposition party that won the Polish parliamentary election is expected to seek additional concessions from the United States for hosting the missile interceptors, the Associated Press reported.

The Civic Platform party yesterday ousted a nationalist conservative Law and Justice party, costing Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski his job.

While Civic Platform backs the U.S. proposal, it has faulted Kaczynski for being too eager to have the deal done.  As part of the deal, Poland should also receive the Patriot air-defense system to strengthen its own defenses, according to the party (Ryan Lucas, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 22).

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